


Gasoline and Matches

by SpiritChilde



Category: Original Work
Genre: Dark Magic, Dragons, Elemental Magic, Fire Magic, Griffin - Freeform, Magic, Multi, Original Content - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, air magic, gasoline and matches, original writing - Freeform, sorcery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-10 12:37:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19905844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritChilde/pseuds/SpiritChilde
Summary: Yomi's life has always been filled with a sense of uncertainty, one that is dragged out further when she's forced into a small get together between classmates. But when urged into exploring abandoned caves with her fellow classmate Mira, both are plummeted into something beyond their understanding, face to face with magic users hiding in their world from a war raging for years and years in the realm of magic.Met with an impossible choice--live their lives free of the memories of magic, or become apprentices at the behest of two amazingly terrifying sorcerers desperate to recover their lost home?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies, this is an original story me and my friend Kayleigh started on in high school. It's a big deal to me, my pride and joy for so long--I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

_Chapter One_

“I swear to fucking god--I am not skinny dipping in a random cave pool with you assholes.”

Yomi winced at the overly loud voice of her fellow classmate, pressing her back to a cave wall while everyone bickered. The tucked away corner of stone was her only solace--Hard, cold despite the sticky heat that came with a summer day. Of all the things she could have done with her Saturday, this was by far the most reckless. _Idiotic._ Completely out of character for the white and black-haired girl. Not one for parties or celebrations of any kind, yet here she was on private property in the middle of that god damn night. Trespassing in an abandoned cave system with seven other rowdy teenagers, trying her best to sit and not be noticed while a small bonfire flickered orange hues onto the cave walls in tantalizing patterns. As if the evening wasn’t hot enough.

To be fair, she didn’t consider herself close to any one of these people, minus Bethany--the girl who dragged Yomi to the party in the first place. A beautiful, bubbly female with dark skin and a personality that stretched on for miles. Saying no to such perseverance was impossible for Yomi, who wasn't the most assertive to begin with. One thing lead to another, someone mentioning the caves and a bonfire before piling eight troublemakers into a minivan. Yomi was, literally and figuratively, dragged into the situation. To say she went kicking and screaming was heavily exaggerated, but boy it sure felt like it. Beth was way too aggressive for her own good, and Yomi considered herself a push-over despite all the rules she set to make sure these kinds of situations didn’t happen.

_Should have stayed home. Shouldn’t have come out here, but..._

There was hesitation, a reluctance that clung to the walls of her skull and refused to let go no matter how much reason was thrown at it. Was it really so wrong to want to try and be a teenager for once? To be out with people her own age, kissing the final year of high school goodbye with something silly and reckless. At least, in this case, she could have done better. They could have chosen a safer, cleaner, less illegal place to kick up her feet. But alas, idiotic minds seemed to think alike in these cases--There were very few voices of reason, and the loudest ones seemed to be those aching to be as reckless as possible.

“Come on, Em,” Jack’s slightly slurred words drew Yomi out of her thoughts, the drunken creature sitting on a rickety arm chair and sipping cheap beer--issue number one? Check. Underage drinking was by far her least favorite part of the evening, “Where’s your sense of adventure? Some hot springs, a little consensual nudity...what could be more fun?”

Jack was a twin, the other member of the set being his sister Ann. Yomi peered between the two as surreptitiously as possible, analyzing the similar shades of blonde hair and green eyes. They were both equally aggravating when it came to starting grievances in school, bouncing off each other like a very bad game of pong. Attractive, but in a similar way to things like poisonous frogs. Bright, shiny, masking jagged edges and toxic skin underneath all the pretty smiles and charismatic exteriors. Yomi knew well enough not to get close, but they were friends with Beth as well.

Jack was addressing Emma, one of the other girls Yomi knew was as reluctant to be there as she was. Voice of reason number one--Closer to the fire, sitting cross-legged on a thin blanket as she tried to ignore the men imploring her to go. She was the definition of tall and curvaceous, the flickering fire light casting shadows over her form from head to toe. Yomi almost rolled her eyes at the men frothing at the mouth--judging by Emma’s figure, their flimsy excuses were pretty obviously hiding their real reason for wanting her to come.

Emma was not oblivious.

“Eat shit and drown,” She held up her middle finger at Jack, shoving his face away when he tried to make pleading eyes, “I have to drive you dumb fucks home later. I’m not letting anyone into my car while wet, and if any of you try its an automatic pass to walking home.”

The caves weren’t an extreme distance from the small town they all lived in, but it was far enough that most of the fire-side listeners actively winced. 

Jack practically whined, those green eyes wide and pleading as he implored, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Em…! Why would you wanna pass up on the healing experience?”

“You and I have very differing opinions on what is considered healing,” Emma retorted, sipping a bottle of soda and turning in a different direction, “I’m not here to dip into some glorified, stanky cave water. But by all means don’t let me stop you, Jackie. Just be prepared for the consequences of walking home on the interstate and explaining to the police chief why you’re out so late and dripping wet to boot.”

Several groans rang out, Jack flopping back in that chair and pouting like a sulking child. Drinking, as expected, turned the teen into the equivalent of a drunken toddler. Yomi still found herself sighed internally with relief, letting that curtain of hair fall forward to shield her face a bit. There were currently more girls than boys, so their dumb idea was overruled for the most part. But...she doubted that would be the case for long, not with a certain someone growing more and more intrigued with each passing second and gulps of alcohol. Bethany was the only one way too on board for her own good, eyes sparkling at the notion of even seeing a hot spring and spending time with the boys in general. She was such a smart girl, exceeding incredibly well in class and reaching top marks despite all the chaos she included herself in.

She just craved excitement far too much, compared to the girl she dragged along with her.

It seemed way too dangerous in Yomi’s opinion, especially considering these caves were abandoned for a reason. Mind you, they weren’t too far in. There was a large hole in the ceiling showing the night sky, venting the smoke so they wouldn’t spend the evening coughing and hacking. But the cave system further down had to be treacherous, carved out long ago by either flooding or miners, she wasn’t sure on the details to be completely honest. Each member of the town seemed to have their own take on just how the cave system got there. And with someone in the group walking with crutches, there was no way their desired spelunking adventure should come to pass, right?

Yomi looked at the girl in question, peering through the safety of her black and white hair to examine Mira’s face. 

Sitting opposite of her by the fire was the girl in question, seeming lost in thought while the others argued and laughed. She was pretty in an unconventional sort of way, with strong features and red hair cropped short at her shoulders. Out of everyone in the group, Mira being here was the only thing more surprising than Yomi herself--exploring in an abandoned cave system on forearm crutches was a terrible idea. After a car accident in freshman year, Mira had been through a slew of surgeries to fix extensive damage to her legs. It wasn’t perfect, but she could walk with the aid of a cane on occasion, more than that on others.. Out of everyone here, she was another one not drinking, sitting in a lawn chair with her scarred legs stretched out near the fire. Just close enough to warm her skin, the flickering flames casting dancing patterns over the roadmap of surgery marks, of cuts long healed and what had to be extensive pain. 

_Strong._

Yomi admired her heavily, Mira had far more guts and determination than she ever could. It took strength to come back from what she endured, and even more so to keep going with an attitude of non-caring. Head held high, chin up, feet moving.

She seemed a tad bit annoyed with the boys as well, pushing her cropped red hair behind her ear and narrowing those emerald green eyes on Jack’s pouting face. He was still bitching, the alcohol making his words a bit sloppy.

“Didn’t take this lot to be a buncha pussies,” He complained, crushing the now-empty beer can against his thigh and tossing it to the side, “Came all this way and y’all won’t even follow through…!”

“Careful, Jack, your hick is showing.” Mira retorted, sipping innocently from a can of soda when he whipped his gaze over to her. She remained unperturbed, as always.

“Saying the word y’all isn’t hick,” There was a frown on his lips, mingled with intense disappointment as those rusty gears that made up his alcohol-soaked brain started to grind in thought, “That’s cowboy shit, right?”

His sister Ann, who was spread over a sheet on the dusty floor, let out a heavy groan at his words and pressed her hands to her face in absolute exasperation. It was very clear who was in ownership of the shared twin brain cell at that moment.

“Jack you are the most humiliating fucking person I have ever met,” She sighed, tone sounding so tired while everyone else cracked up laughing at Jack’s expense, “Cowboys are a southern thing you absolute twat.”

Yomi purposely looked away while the others started cackling, sipping from a can of soda and trying to focus on the sugary contents as a means of avoiding laughter herself. Jack was never the brightest bulb in the pack, and cheap beer made it all worse. Underage drinking was never a good idea, and the quiet girl hated it with a passion, so this was just proving every point she had created for herself. Bad behavior? Check. Enhancing foolish ideas to the point that they seemed like good ones? Check. Turning an already idiotic eighteen year old into a god damn man child? Two checks and a very exasperated Yomi there to write them in.

Jack puffed up like an angry cat, glaring daggers at his sister as he stammered, “W...well I knew that…! I was just, y’know…”

“Being a dumbass?” Emma provided helpfully, sitting back and leaning all her weight on her arms, “Baby steps, Jackie. You’ll reach the basic level of human intelligence someday.”

Yomi felt like that was heavily unlikely, but she kept her mouth shut, instead fiddling with the trim on her shorts while the group erupted again. There was certainly a lot of drinking going on with Jack, Ann, Beth, and Jake. Ann handled it a lot better than the boys did, but Beth was turning into a giggly sorority girl, which was definitely not a good thing. They were the loudest of the group when it came to laughing and joking, whereas Clark, Emma, and Mira were as calm as Yomi was. At least there were some sane people in the group. 

How much longer was it going to be before she could go home? Beth had lost all interest in her now that she was bouncing off the others, the girl’s choice to drink not sitting well with Yomi. Alcohol as a whole always put the quiet group member on edge, an extra reason why she wanted to be free of these idiots.

 _They’re not idiots,_ She reminded herself, shoulders slumping a bit at her own rude line of thinking, _They’re being normal teenagers. You’re the odd one here_.

Reprimanding herself was the only way to correct her own negativity toward others, so she tried to make it a habit. Yomi also tried to force herself to relax--this was supposed to be fun, right? She was out with kids her age, doing “crimes” and nibbling on fireside food late at night. Trying to look on the bright side of it, to find good in the bad. Given the choice, however, she wished there was less underage drinking involved.

“Now now, kids,” Clark’s baritone voice pulled her out of her musings, looking up to see the dark-skinned male stand up and brush off the dust, “How about we just walk around for a bit? Some basic spelunking, no swimming involved.”

The two other boys perked up at that, practically bouncing in the orange hue of the fire as they stood as well.

“I like that word,” Jake, the other group trouble maker and notoriously horny on main, purred as he slung an arm around Emma and dragged her up unwillingly-- _someone was going to lose a finger_ , Jake the best candidate, “Come on now, kitten, let’s go spelunking. Sounds sexy, amiright?”

Em made a visible face of disgust, firmly peeling his arm off of her and gripping to the point of pain. Made obvious by Jake’s yelp of alarm. 

“Call me kitten again, and you’ll be experiencing the joy of my size seven shoes up your ass.” She said in a sugary sweet tone, one that barely veiled the threat she was putting across.

He whined in response, yanking his arm back and rubbing his aching wrist. Everyone else seemed to be standing as well, easily convinced by Clark’s reasonable tone, much to Yomi’s absolute dismay. So much for not exploring the caves. This was shaping to be an incredibly nerve-wracking evening, the dark tunnels plummeting into the Earth seeming intimidating and empty when she turned to gaze into them. It made the timid girl incredibly nervous, coming to her feet as well and gripping the edges of her blouse with firm fingers. They were already in a place they shouldn’t be, so why add the extra danger to the mix?

Even Mira, the one who seemed like she shouldn’t be cave diving at all, was now on board. Not wanting to be left out from anything. Yomi contemplated giving her an imploring look, but thought against it. 

“Jake, you would find the word ‘hamper’ sexy. Get over yourself.” With that, the redhead struggled to her feet, limping across the cave with both hands firmly grasping the crutches on her arms. She seemed completely determined, those green eyes sharp and gait suggesting she wouldn’t be swayed in the slightest.

“Mira, hold on! Let me walk with you.” Clark scrambled up, boy scout instincts kicking in to make sure Mira didn’t fall to her doom somewhere. Yomi liked that about Clark-- that he genuinely cared about people. Only problem was that he was a negotiator, trying to find a middle ground for what everyone wanted.

Too bad what Yomi wanted was to go home and be free of this situation. But Clark didn’t know that, especially not with her too nervous to speak up. 

Jake made a face at Mira's back, sounding incredibly immature as he mocked, “Myeh myeh myeh, I'm Mira and have to be sarcastic all the time.”

He blew a raspberry, which was further evidence that not a single male in the group could handle drinking without morphing into a child. Yomi almost rolled her eyes. 

“Grow up, Jake.” Several of the girls said dryly in reply, sounding like a choir of reason in the face of such nonsense. All but Bethany, who was seeming to have a great time now that the spelunking operation was back on board.

This was starting to become tiresome--Yomi would have rather not sit there and listen to the banter that cropped up when Jake got into one of those moods again. Not to mention the fact that staying with Beth would only result in her being sucked into all the horniness they were carrying around. And shockingly enough...someone seemed to notice her exhausted expression before she managed to hide it. Emma had been staring across the cave at Yomi, those stern eyes searching and missing nothing, especially not with her knowing full well that Beth had played a big part in dragging the reluctant new member of the group along.

What Yomi didn’t expect was for her to actually act on it.

“Why don’t you guys go exploring without us?” The woman suggested helpfully to one half of the group, eyeing Mira as she clung to Clark a bit for support and sounding incredibly disapproving of the situation, “I’ll keep an eye on the dumbasses while they look for water, and to prevent any potential cave ins caused by Jake and Jack’s stupidity--”

_Cave-ins?_

“Hey!” Both boys protested, looking thoroughly chastised--like somehow the idea of them causing trouble was absolutely ludicrous.

 _“Regardless,_ ” Emma interjected loudly, rolling her eyes at their ranging expressions of insult and annoyance, “I’d rather Yomi and Clarke make sure Mira doesn’t fall in somewhere, you’re the only ones other than me who are sober.”

Clark and Mira seemed surprised to even hear Yomi’s name, turning to look at her with mirrored expressions of shock as if her presence had been lost on them both. It occurred to her that pair had probably not talked to her in school much before, outside asking for help with a question or for borrowing a pencil. Hell, Yomi hadn’t said a word the whole trip minus occasionally mumbling to Beth, replying to her constant questions and cheerful banter as much as she could handle. So those expressions they wore should not be hurtful.

_Right?_

“Oh, cool, the more the merrier.” Clark said, awkwardly dithering behind Mira as she sought to walk further into the cave. Almost impatiently. The redhead looked eager for adventure, green eyes sparkling in the firelight as she nudged the bigger male’s arm with her forearm crutches.

 _Am I doing this right?_ Yomi wondered anxiously, keeping her eyes on Mira like observing the girl would somehow teach her the proper ways to act, _Should I be excited instead of worried? Shouldn’t I want to do something risky?  
_

While she fretted, everyone continued on obliviously. Beth had zero complaints with Em’s demands, seeming more than happy to walk around with the other guys in her drunken state. She smiled cheerfully, giving a small finger wave as Emma locked arms with her, “M’kay, we’ll meet back up here, yeah?”

She didn’t wait for Yomi’s response, turning and practically dragging Emma down a branching path. Thank god the more reasonable woman was going with them, to make sure no one did anything stupid. All of it was all too much to bear for someone like Yomi, the drunken state of her fellow classmates a bit too intimidating. She was grateful for that at the very least, they needed one reasonable person to make sure the skinny dipping didn’t happen, and to keep Beth safe and sound from such exasperating indivduals. 

Regardless, she turned when Mira pushed forward eagerly, trailing carefully behind while Clarke shadowed the redhead’s steps. The heat of the bonfire slowly started to fade as they pushed through the jagged edges of the tunnel entrance, wary not to trip on a few huge rocks and pieces of the cave wall. All the while Yomi was trying to shake her sense of worry, scrambling to figure out just what to say to her two classmates. _Why was this so hard_? Once upon a time she had friends, close to so many people in elementary school until...well. Things had changed, so much had happened that it sometimes felt like her head was still spinning from the stress of all of it. There was solace in silence, one she had come to rely on far too much.

Luckily...it would not need to be thought about long, because someone took the reigns out of her hesitant hands and spoke. The same someone she had started looking to for any indication on how to be a normal human being. 

“Didn't want to listen to them either?” Mira asked casually as the light began to die away, sloping downwards into darkness and snapping Yomi out of her thoughts, “I don't blame you. The best people have brains in their heads...I think Jake has vodka instead.”

Clark snorted, laughing into his hand. At least he was finding amusement in this. She couldn’t help herself either--Yomi half smiled in agreement, surprised to find comfort in their company now that the more rowdy group members were separated and relieved that the other girl seemed at ease with drawing her into the conversation. Mira had the habit in school of saying the crass version of what everyone was thinking, speaking her mind at all times, but it was somehow...welcome, and accurate. Jake, best known for puking on his SAT thanks to a hangover, absolutely had a skull full of cheap vodka.

“I think you may be right,” Yomi replied, gaze turned away and pulling out her phone to light the path once it occurred to her how low the visibility was getting, “Do you guys think this is a good idea…? Maybe splitting up to go cave diving on abandoned property isn’t...the smartest.”

Mira let out a light laugh at that, leaning heavily on her cane as she replied, “This group isn’t known for their brains. Though I will say,” She gave Yomi a side-long glance, raising one delicate eyebrow at her, “Pretty surprised to see you at this little get-together. You never seemed to be the partying type.”

That made the girl wince, turning away from Mira’s searching eyes. She certainly had the knack for saying exactly what would make one squirm, which was fine when it wasn’t directed at the most nervous one of the group. There was a prolonged silence as Yomi thought over the comment in general, trying to gather the best thing she could say in response. This was the topic of the year, muttered in hallways with curious and skeptical eyes watching her. _Why doesn’t Yomi “participate” in anything? Does she think herself to be better than everyone because of her family?_ To come out to a party such as this after three whole years of keeping to herself, trying desperately to stay under the radar--it was understandable that Mira would be curious.

Others were just too cowardly to ask.

“I...well...I wanted to try.” Yomi murmured in reply, feeling both sets of eyes on her as she stepped down over a lip in the path. She couldn’t remember ever speaking about this to anyone, keeping all the issues locked up tight without burdening another person. But in the dark of the caves, out of her element...something could change, right?

“Just for a day. To try and be... normal.”

Whether or not that made sense was the question, but Yomi didn’t think there would be anything to worry about on that front. They definitely understood what was being put across, there was no doubting that. She realized easily as she turned to watch Clark help Mira down the incline, meeting his now-sympathetic gaze and feeling a bit surprised by the serious expression he wore. It didn’t change much to send him into concerned, big brother mode it would seem. Those dark eyes were gentle in the dim lighting, reflecting the glow of her cell phone with a steady gaze meeting her own

“Is it hard,” He asked hesitantly, like the thought hadn’t entered his head before, “For you to be normal? Or rather...to feel normal.”

Mira pursed her lips, emerald-green eyes also glinting in the light from Yomi’s phone as she waited for the reply.

Yomi let out a light hum in response, meeting Mira’s steady gaze and trying to decipher the emotion there. Something akin to understanding, thoughtful in nature. Since she asked the original question, it felt only right to give such answers to her.

“Might sound silly, but...it does,” Yomi admitted, feeling strangely at ease while talking to someone like the brash redhead. There was something about her, a silent camaraderie Yomi didn’t understand--maybe due to how much the troubled girl respected and admired her? Strong, steadfast and determined in everything she did. Mira was certainly not the type to judge, nor had she partaken in all the criticizing that went around the school. She simply felt...curious, “It felt easier to just stay quiet and get through school as fast as I could. I...wanted to try and have fun for once.”

Mira snorted, saying exactly what Yomi herself had thought previously in the evening, “Hard to call that shit fun. We could have stayed at Clark’s place, watching anime reruns and covering ourselves in crumbs from the safety of his couch.”

Yomi blinked in response. She had never been to Clark’s house before--the very notion of being able to was somehow strange, a nice change of pace. Her brain created its own images of someplace nice and cozy, domestic in comparison to the big, empty house she lived in on a daily basis. It sounded pleasant.

Mira’s words made their classmate smile, a flash of those pearly whites as he laughed, “You’re just saying that because you like my dog.”

“And what moron wouldn’t?”

Yomi hid her smile at their conversation, trying to instead focus on navigating the narrow path in the dark. It was eerily quiet in the caves besides the echoing words from the other two. No dripping water, no sounds of animals or anything at all. Didn’t caves have bats? Mice? _Strange eldritch creatures hungering for their flesh?_ Her imagination was getting out of control, which needed to be halted before it got worse. The path was starting to widen a bit, the walls looking less craggy and jagged to... _smooth?_ Almost curved at the top like an archway, air drifting in from their backs and overcoming the stagnant smell with the one of crackling firewood. This felt...odd--why was the floor so even, the walls spaced perfectly like the cave had been carved out long ago?

Maybe these were mining caves after all?

Yomi frowned a bit, feeling along the wall and noticing what looked to be something carved into the stone and rock. It was strangely out of place on the crumbling, misshapen tunnel--everything around it had long since been messed up by the earth shifting and changing, but it was only this area that seemed to remain untouched, smooth, undisturbed by nature or anything like that. Yomi probed her fingers further, turning the light on her phone to brighten up what she was feeling for further examination. But that only increaded the confusion, amping up the surprise when she saw first hand what her hands were touching.

Not cracks, not carvings. These markings were different than that, and far more precise.

It looked almost...runic, made up of intricately curved lines and shapes. They reminded her of something she had seen in a video game, or a fantasy movie with witches and wizards. It didn’t look chiseled either--almost like it was burned into the stone with lava or a razor thin torch. That...couldn’t be right though, could it? Was cave dwelling cultists another story told in town when people spoke of the caves? The memory wasn’t exactly there, which was somehow even more concerning. Someone definitely had to take the time to make such strange markings, it was incredibly intricate and beautiful in design. Who could have such dedication, to come into a dark cave and make something no one would ever see?

Yet here they were, seeing them.

_This is so unbelievably bizarre._

“What’s wrong?” Clark asked, pulling out his phone as well to shine light on their feet. He took a few steps closer, leaning over Yomi’s shoulder to stare at the marking and letting out a low murmur of, “Wow, that’s strange. Never seen anything like it.”

An understatement to be sure. It was almost ridiculous, like something she would have seen in a movie or storybook.

Mira came up on the other side as well, leaning her weight against the white and black-haired girl without a care in the world. Yomi paused in surprise, not minding the sudden contact, but...it felt weird having people be so close.

“Maybe some dumb devil-worshipping teenagers were down here,” She said dismissively, eyeing the rest of the tunnel with a troubled expression despite her laid-back tone, “Did any of you see a sheep’s carcass on our way down? Candles? Shrines devoted to the dark Lord Satan?”

Clark clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “See now, that’s not funny.”

“I thought it was hilarious,” Mira smirked, shoving his shoulder with one of her crutches, “Lighten up, Superman. Most you have to be scared of down here is Jake’s wandering hands.”

Yomi sighed at their joking, pressing her fingertips to the marks and tracing out one of the more prominent lines. Satan worshipers was one thing, but in a small town like theirs people like that would have been incredibly obvious. Even then, what the hell did they use to get the marks so precise and small? It certainly didn’t look carved, at least not to her eyes-- more like it was burned into the stone’s surface like a brand. But if there was any scorching, it was not found by her carefully searching eyes in the dark. Something about it felt ominous and strange--the hairs on the back of Yomi’s neck stood up, signalling to her that they should probably just turn back. 

Skinny dipping was one thing, finding mysterious symbols in a dark tunnel was definitely outside her final walls of comfort. She had enough spooks for one day, that was for certain.

But when she turned to tell them that, Clark was pressing onward, sliding one hand along the wall and holding up his phone with the other. Mira was following slowly behind, managing fairly well on her forearm crutches and staring at what had now garnered the boy’s attention. 

Yomi blinked, eyes widening when she saw more and more symbols lining the walls, different in their patterns and designs and now taking up almost every available space. _What the hell was all of this?_ She quickened her step, keeping half of her focus on Mira to make sure the girl wouldn’t stumble, the other half on the newfound mystery. Marking after marking, curving up toward the ceiling and turning into swirling images as they danced over the curves and stone. Depicting otherworldly creatures, dragons and giant birds in flight as they clashed in the sky. 

They were beautiful, but wasted in a cave such as this.

“Where did these come from…?” Yomi murmured, tracing the patterns with each step and unable to understand any of it, “You would think someone else would have found these markings, but...No one mentioned them, did they?”

She spent a lot of her time observing and listening. Even when news of these caves spread, no one spoke of something such as this.

Clark frowned, his brow furrowing as he lost himself in thought, “Now that you mention it...I was told there was one tunnel system, not two paths. There was rubble around the one we took, the edges more jagged. Maybe this way was opened by a cave in?”

Yomi blanched, taking a very measured step backwards in the direction they entered in. If there had been a collapse before, it could very well happen again. Now that she thought about it, the entry way did have a bit of debris, and Emma had spoken of something like that being possible before herding the drunken members of the group away.

_Not safe. We need to go._

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Mira huffed, genuine concern on her face now as she mimicked Yomi’s motion and stepped backwards, “If cave-ins are a thing, we need to bounce. Too much danger for my liking.”

That was a hard agreement on Yomi’s part. She already felt uneasy about coming to an abandoned cave in the middle of the woods, especially when it was technically illegal. Mind you, kids had done it before and generally only got a slap on the wrists. But Yomi didn’t particularly want to be arrested, especially considering who she was. If she got arrested, if her step father and mother found out what she was doing…

_Bad, very bad._

"Yeah, let's head back. We can go to my house," Clark gave Yomi a welcoming smile, putting a hand around Mira’s arm to hold her steady. "You can come too, if you want--my dog Ruby is a sweetheart, loves everyone. We call her Boobie.”

His words make Yomi pause, a hesitant delight blooming in her chest at how eager he was to try and be kind to her. Clark was known for being the friendly sort, but unlike Bethany he was nowhere near as pushy or forceful about it. A gentle giant, one who respected people’s personal space. Even people in their class who weren’t his friends know that he'd be there if they needed him, and having him extend that same courtesy to her despite the reputation floating around school…

_I’m not used to this._

She opened her mouth to reply, trying to formulate some sort of coherent response or maybe ask if it was really alright with them, but something made her focus start to drift.

_...What is that sound?_

Yomi blinked, ears suddenly hyper-focusing on the cave around them in a brief second of clarity from the racing thoughts. It had been shockingly quiet in this area before, far from the crackling fire and rowdy classmates. No dripping water, no bats, nothing but the echos of their own voices bouncing further into the landscape. But now...something was there, making all three teenagers pause and glance at each other in confusion. It was low, so low that for a second Yomi thought she was imagining it, but it brought a sensation that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, vibrating the bottoms of her feet every so slightly. A humming, like a deep bass was vibrating through the cave and growing in quiet intensity. It was the sort of thing one could feel in their lungs, loud and quiet at the same time.

Mira shot a confused look at Yomi’s face, placing a hand on the wall while her forearm crutch dangled a bit. For whatever reason, it made the other girl mimic her action--the humming sensation felt like it was radiating from the walls, below their feet and rising upwards. Clark was the only one who didn’t seem compelled to touch the cool stone, shining his light down the tunnel with a worried expression on his face. _What the hell was that sound? What is going on?_ So ominous, so...mysterious. Surely not from her fellow classmates, they had nothing that could cause something like this, not the pulsing waves of bass that seemed to vibrate from below.

_Break...shatter to pieces._

Was...that a voice speaking? The white and black-haired girl gasped, turning to look at Mira to see if she heard it too--the answer was a clear yes. Her green eyes met half-way with Yomi’s hazel gaze, filled with quiet alarm and fascination mingled in one. Clark was the only one who didn’t seem to hear it, still looking around with a perplexed gaze at the humming.

_Break. Shatter.  
_

_Let us in.  
_

_I’m tired of waiting--I SAID BREAK._

A crackling sound suddenly range out, making Yomi flinch at the sudden shattering of silence and snapping her gaze to the ground. _Bright, it’s bright--_ what is going on? A burst of light made them all gasp, the marks on the wall lighting up in a flash of purple energy that slithered through every curve, every line and circle all the way up into the ceiling with a searing howl that razed against her ears. It all happened so fast, so suddenly there was no room to react. As it traveled along her palm, Yomi yelped at a flash of heat, falling back and jerking her hand to her chest in unison with Mira. It stung terribly, like pressing against a hot brand under her skin was sizzling from the wound of it. _  
_

_What the fuck was that?_

Both girls stared in shock, Clark putting himself behind them to make sure neither fell onto the floor. Yomi felt her back hit his chest when she reared back, his heartbeat fast and just as alarmed as hers was as he stared in mute shock at the glowing runes all over the walls.

Quick as it came, the light left, traveling up to the images on the ceiling and disappearing in a flash of sizzling violet. Every hair on Yomi’s arms was standing on end, heart pounding in her chest and hand stinging terribly. What _was_ that? _What the fuck just happened?_ The air felt charged, like static electricity and smelled of something...strange, like nothing she had ever encountered before. There was no mistaking that it had happened, all three classmates stood huddled in a state of shock as the humming subsided ever so slightly. Mira breathing heavily, Clark’s hands firm on their shoulders as he held them as steady as he could with shaking fingers.

Something had just happened, something none of them understood.

“Holy _shit,_ ” Mira whispered, leaning against Yomi and wincing as she lifted her injured hand. Yomi stared in shock at her palm, seeing the same markings from the wall seared into her flesh--upon looking at her own, the girl was met with the same image. The skin around the wound tingled, charged with an inexplicable energy that made her whole hand uncomfortable, “What the fuck was that? _You all saw that, right?_ I didn’t hallucinate some weird fucking energy burning my hand.”

Yomi shook her head, taking in a shaking breath as she stared at the stinging mass of markings now on her flesh, “N...no...we all saw it…” She turned her gaze to stare down the tunnel, hearing that same humming still radiating ever so slightly further along, “I’ve never seen anything like that...never.”

It had been...frightening, but _incredible_ at the same time. Exhilarating, like an adventure she had never been allowed to have. 

And shockingly enough, Mira was feeling the same way. When Yomi returned her gaze to the red-headed girl, she saw her own excitement echoed there, growing in intensity as she too seemed to registered that they had been apart of something strange, something beyond their realm of understanding. Injured or not, it was outside the normativity of their everyday lives, and that was...was…

_I want to understand this. I want to know more._

Clark was the only one who was visibly shaken from the incident, not sharing in their excitement as he stammered, “W...we should probably go...That shit isn’t normal, and you both are burnt…!” He took a step back, watching to make sure Mira had properly adjusted her crutches before pulling out his phone, “I’m gonna call Em and make sure she and the others are alright--let’s get going and tend to your wounds.”

Mira let out a light huff, wincing when she tried to grip the crutch with her injured palm and hanging back as Clark took a few steps in the direction they came from, “Hang on now--Aren’t you even a little curious? The walls were glowing, they burned like fire…!”

The eager redhead slid past Yomi, walking a bit awkwardly now that she was trying not to grip the one half of her crutches. Her gaze was locked on the markings, barely illuminated by her companion’s phone as she moved a bit further down the tunnel. Meanwhile, the more timid member of their group was torn, watching her actions and unconsciously trailing behind. Her brain was screaming at her to go back to safety, to leave before things got even worse--the mark burned into flesh would scar, a permanent reminder of this day, and yet she didn’t care. Mira was excited about what was going on...maybe it meant she could feel that way too? Maybe it was normal to want to understand the unknown.

But Clark wasn’t convinced, the only voice of reason as he turned to look at them a few feet away, “Not a chance--not where our safety is involved…!”

 _Maybe he’s right._ Yomi frowned, still holding her injured hand cupped with the other one. Maybe another day, maybe after talking to the others about what happened? Leaving felt disappointing, but...some things were more important than discovery, right? The need to learn more, the curiosity swirling in her gut was so strong she almost spoke up on Mira’s behalf, pleading with Clark to let them look a little bit further. She was never the type to ask for things, it always felt so selfish. Especially now, with danger thrown into the mix.

How could Yomi possible hope to demand anything if it meant endangering the lives of both the people with her? It was not fair.

She instead returned her gaze to Mira, reading the same unhappiness there that she felt and returning it in kind. Both shared a silent moment of understanding, hazel staring into green, Yomi’s hesitant desires plain and clear on her face. The redhead looked ready to speak, spurned on even more by her classmate’s fellow eagerness.

But it was short lived, Clark’s words punctuated like fate itself was scolding them for their hesitation.

A loud rumble started shaking the cave, all three letting out varying cries of alarm and stumbling on their feet. _Loud, everything was so loud_ \--stone rattling, cracking, grinding with the force of the tremors rocking the small space.Yomi heard screams echo from the other side of the cave, bouncing all the way down to their tunnel and signalling that the others were feeling the tremor too--a cave in? _Earthquake?_ There was so much was shaking, like the stone under their feet was shifting back and forth and threatening to make the unsteady girl fall to her knees. Clark tumbled back behind them, his phone clattering onto the floor but barely heard through the chaos surrounding the fearful students.

Yomi instinctively whipped around to look at Mira, reaching out to the girl as she screamed and started to fall in the dark. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a moment--Yomi reaching, Mira falling, room rumbling _...she’s still falling, further than she should_. Yomi’s finger’s gripped one of the redhead’s arms, a slow sense of dread and alarm growing when she continued to plummet. Beyond the floor, beyond the- _-the floor is gone._ The realization came too late, the shock snapping through her as it registered why the floor was so dark. It had given way, crumbling into nothingness and sending Mira into a free-fall. _  
_

_A cave in, ground subsidence,_ Yomi’s head screamed at her, every warning bell going off as she prepared to hold Mira’s weight, _She’s going to fall, she’s going to--_

But when she tried to steady her weight, she felt it--a cracking underneath her feet. Yomi scrambled, a cry of alarm lodging in her throat as the cave in shattered more of what once appeared as solid stone. It bottomed out with a loud grinding sound, sending the frantic girls into a plummeting down toward the empty abyss. There was no true way to describe it, the feeling of falling with absolutely no purchase for her hands or feet. _She’s going to die--we’re going to die._ There was nowhere to grab onto, no footing, no nothing. Just empty space that her free fingers clawed for, eyes locked on their descent and hoping to god that Clarke was far enough away not to be pulled into it. Her palm was flaring in pain where it held Mira’s arm, the girl’s cries loud in her ears over the rushing of blood and adrenaline. 

But she still heard him as they fell, Clark’s scream of fear and horror as more stone collapsed over where they once stood.

_“No…! Yomi! Mira…!”_

Neither could response. All Yomi could do was cling to the other girl, heart pounding in her ears and a choked cry of terror lodged in her throat as the air rushed past.

As they plummeted into the nothingness.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this came out late--having a rough time with my laptop. Any comments would be lovely, feedback is very important for me on this one

_Chapter Two_

_Yomi was certain of it now--they were going to die._

She clung hard onto Mira as their bodies free fell, wind howling past and blood rushing in her ears. _Plummeting_. Falling endlessly, all light gone and the descent definitely long enough to break every bone on impact. Of all the ways she thought it would happen, Yomi never imagined the end coming in a scenario like this. There were so many other ways, so many other possibilities far more likely in an existence like hers that would have been the winning candidates in summoning Death into the timid girl’s life . Her mind couldn’t wrap around the notion, to the harsh reality of falling into the abyss, waiting and waiting for it all to suddenly end in a crack of flesh against whatever surface they’d land on. How far down did this pit extend? Would it take hours? Days? Years? It sure felt like it, and waiting was part of the madness that she absolutely couldn’t stand.

Get it over with. _Get it over with--this is the worst experience of my life._

Her only regret was that Mira had been dragged into it, the girl’s voice now hoarse from screaming as she gripped Yomi’s hand hard, tight enough that she was losing circulation. It hardly mattered, especially with the situation they were in. Yomi didn’t have a lot of people who would bat an eye if she was gone, fact of the matter being that she went out of the way to make that the reality of her situation. Mira was different, there were so many students and people in town who knew and respected her--people who were devastated when the car accident happened, that went out of their way to make sure she got back on her feet after all the pain and struggling. It was a shame that after the hard work they all put in that this would be the way Mira was forced to go out, another accident sending her falling into a cave pit...forced to die with Yomi of all people.

The white and black-haired girl should have listened to instinct, should have said something.Once again her inability to be assertive caused problems--maybe if the girl had been more vocal about the uneasiness felt, Mira and Clarke could have stayed behind in safety? They could have gone to the boy’s house as planned, met his cute dog and spent the rest of the night actually enjoying themselves. What about the other’s? Bethany, Emma, Jack, Ann, Jake... _were they hurt?_ Did the cave in effect them too? So many questions swirling around Yomi’s brain, one consuming another to take its place in a cacophony of sound and white noise. Only succeeding in making the reality of her situation all the more horrific, because she would never get to know what happened to the other classmates. And that was somehow more distressing over her own mortality, more than her own life.

_How much worth did I have anyway?_

It was that thought that finally made Yomi eyes close, body relaxing in its struggle and letting the air take her down, down into the darkness. Acceptance was the final part of the process--death was coming and there was no fighting it, not this far down. Mira seemed to have a similar idea, her form ceasing to struggle and legs hanging limply against Yomi’s own while the seconds passed on and on. At least...that what she thought they were--it was starting to feel more like minutes, brain unable to comprehend time in the fog that came with falling to an ultimate demise.

Wasn’t her life supposed to flash before her eyes? Movies and tv shows _lied._

“Yomi…” Mira’s soft, hoarse voice was barely audible above the rush of air, her form trembling as that strange humming started to reach their ears again. Like bass rumbling as it rose louder and louder in frequency, ears and lungs vibrating from the sensation until it was almost uncomfortable. _Unbearable,_ _“Yomi…!_ ”

The girl’s eyes snapped open, a gasp lodging in her throat as a blue glow started to encompass the surrounding space. It reflected refracted, scattering light on the stone walls--like the inside of a swimming pool. W _ater,_ the white and black-haired girl realized, gazing at the stone whooshing past in a sort of trance. _Why was it so bright?_ Luminescent, shimmering like diamonds that split apart into stars, bathing every surface in an otherworldly glow. Yomi tried to twist her head around, looking for the source of light coming from below, but the rush of air only managed to sting her eyes, hair obscuring whatever view could have been reached. Did it even matter anyway? As soon as they touched whatever awaited them, death would come swift and unrelenting anyway.

At least...that’s what she thought.

There seemed to be a brief moment where everything slowed, the cave walls that were once a blur seemingly visible to Yomi’s stinging eyes. She inhaled a sharp breath, beads of bright, glowing blue water seeming to hover in the air that drifted by her face. Pearl-like, pristine and almost tranquil in what the girl assumed to be their final moments of life. The water coagulated, curling upwards faster and faster as time suddenly seemed to return, like reaching hands that curled around herself and Mira in kind. _Cradling us, a loving embrace._ The redhead let out a sharp gasp, seeing exactly what her companion was as water surrounded them both in a halo of blue, the rush of air gone and a low chill meeting dangling limbs. What is happening? _What is happening?_ Yomi sucked in a lung-full of air, eyes squeezing shut as the water enveloped them both, somehow not soaking her clothes at all and bringing with it an almost serene sense of peace.

And then...they plummeted into the icy pool in a rush of sound and adrenaline.

Yomi was lucky she inhaled before it happened, the halo of water suddenly collapsing onto them like the waves of an ocean. It weighed down all their limbs, soaked to the bone and sense of direction sent spiraling out of control. The impact jostled Mira from Yomi’s grasp slightly, her canes sent floating away into this pool and lost to the girl’s reaching hands. It was cold, so cold--for a moment Yomi found herself unable to move, the tingling water surrounding her on all sides and bringing with it a dazed sensation that would not fade. It was somehow so bright, the water hold its own ethereal glow and color as she managed to peel her eyes open. _This wasn’t death...was it?_ Her limbs still ached, palm stinging from its burn and lungs starting to scream for air. _No, she was still alive,_ the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks and snapping away the daze in an instant.

_I survived, I’m alive._

Several things pinged at once in her skull, limbs twitching to life and head whipping around to look for Mira. _If I survived, then--She has injured legs, can she swim? Drowning._ There, floating a few feet away, Yomi spotted a familiar flash of red amongst the illuminated blue. Her legs immediately started kicking, ignoring the growing ache in her lungs as she reached for the limp body of Mira. _Please be alive. Please_. Desperate now, clawing upwards with one arm while her feet worked below, trying to bring herself and her limp classmate up to the surface. She refused to drown here, not after they somehow survived a fall that should have killed any normal human being. Inch by inch, foot by foot Yomi surged to the glassy top of the water, heart roaring in her ears and feeling lightheaded at a lack of oxygen before the surface shattered from her impact.

A loud gasp of breath immediately sucked into her lungs, wheezing and choking on it as she struggled to hold Mira above the water. Air, breathing, _alive._ Yomi coughed a bit, body shaking from head to toe as her classmate started to hack as well, groaning and breathing in and out carefully. Thank whatever gods existed above, the redhead appeared unharmed as well. The whole situation was inexplicable, absolutely outside the realm of what Yomi ever considered possible. If not for the very obvious pain ripping through her hand, she would have thought this all a very elaborate nightmare, or a very bizarre dream. The kind you have and wake up on the floor of your room after rolling off the bed.

Grasping reality proved difficult, even as she dragged Mira’s shaking form to the edge of the pool, both girls gathering their wits and breath while Yomi tasked herself with getting them out. Mira appeared stunned, almost in a state of shock which was more than understandable. What just happened was beyond comprehension, and she had been through enough the way it was. She didn’t struggle when Yomi started to tug her out of the water, both collapsing on their sides on the pool’s edge to catch their breath and decompress a bit. More stone, the ground hard and cold under Yomi’s bare shoulder. Christ, what the hell had just happened? Where were they now, and how the hell were they still alive? 

Her eyes tilted upwards, seeing nothing by darkness above and no sign of the ceiling that they fell through. There was no way a fall like that wouldn’t kill them, even while landing in water. The velocity, speed...impact would have shattered the two girls like flimsy ragdolls, snapped necks, dislocated limbs. But...Yomi stared at her palm, seeing the burn from earlier and feeling shaken to her core. After that burst of light, the burn that razed over her skin...nothing was normal anymore, nothing. 

But now they were down here. And she didn’t know how to get out.

“M...Mira…” The timid girl whispered, voice breathy and soft as she reached out to grip her classmate’s free hand, “A...are you okay…? Are you hurt?”

There was a beat of silence, broken only by ragged breathing and the sound of water gently pattering from their bodies. Yomi turned her gaze, seeing Mira slowly roll herself over to stare back with frightened, tired green eyes. 

She swallowed visibly, squeezing the hands of the salt and pepper-haired girl and managing to croak out, “I...I’m not hurt, but…” Mira slowly started sitting up, helped by Yomi as they dragged themselves a bit further away from the water’s edge. Those emerald eyes reflected the refracted light, skin pallid from stress as she whispered, “Yomi... _how the fuck are we still alive?”_

Christ, wasn’t that the new question of the day? She wished that there was an answer, eyes closing as more water dripped from her sopping form. Things used to be dictated by logic, common knowledge and careful thinking. It was these ideals that got Yomi this far in life, her way of survival. But none applied in the face of such oddities, leaving her feeling exposed and lost where she might have once been level. Nervousness, shyness...those were one thing. Dealing with a scrap with death and surviving against all obvious indicators of that being wrong was...another.

“I...I don’t know,” Yomi replied softly, pressing fingertips against her own temple in an attempt to stave off the building stress, “We...we need to think, need to get out of here.”

How far down did they fall? If a search party came looking for them, would this place be accessible? Knowing their small town, knowing the lack of resources and how bad the cave-in was…

There was no doubting it. They would be presumed dead.

 _Don’t think about it,_ Yomi tried to meekly tell herself, rising to her feet and helping Mira up with a firm arm around her waist. The surrounding cave was big, much bigger than anything that was seen before. Most of the ceiling above was way too high up to catch a glimpse of, and what was visible consisted of craggy stalactites that reached down in an arcing slope toward what looked to be a long passageway nearby. More of those strange symbols made swirling patterns on the walls, and on the floor too by the looks of it. Although these were a bit...odd. 

Yomi reached instinctively to grab her cellphone from its usual pocket, but was disappointed to find that it wasn’t there. It was in her hands when the cave-in happened, so it was probably still resting up above or smashed to bits by rocks and stones. So much for a flashlight, or for calling 911. 

She felt Mira struggling to reach into her own phone, pulling the soaked electronic out of her shorts and wincing lightly. Thank god she still had hers at least--but by the looks of it, there was no signal to be had in such a strange location. Zero bars, zero service--both girls exchanged disappointed glances, but the phone case at least protected the device from water damage. Mira turned on its flashlight to shine it on the ground around them and at the cave walls.

These marks were definitely strange. They all curled from the same direction, reaching out like branching tendrils from a single passageway on the far wall. Almost like they had extended from that location, finally reaching the pool and forming a ring of symbols around it. Akin the ones upstairs, they were practically scorched into the cracked stone, some depicting images of creatures Yomi recognized from storybooks. The most prominent of them being the visage of a mighty dragon, concocted from swirling runes that made up its outstretched wings and powerful jaws. The other was that of… a Griffin, if she remembered mythology correctly, both curling toward from the passageway over hallowed ground.

“What is this place…?” Mira muttered, nose scrunching up a bit as she stared around the cave in a mixture of wonder and perplexion, “Maybe this is why we somehow survived...something like...I don’t know.”

“Magic?” Yomi provided quietly, eyes catching on the dragon’s image and lingered there. Something about it held her attention, like a feather-light touch on the edge of her consciousness. She could remember things from her childhood, the storybooks her father used to read at bedtime telling of amazing, enchanting fantasies. Dragons were always her favorite, always the ones she associated with him the most before he…

_Don’t. The therapist talked about this, didn’t she?_

Mira didn’t seem to want to say what Yomi had, only nodding despite how utterly baffling it sounded in the open air. Magic was a thing of movies, tv shows and books. Surely believing in it was a foolish thing, something utterly childish? But there was no other explanation, not when all of reality’s options had been extinguished.

“...We don’t have to think about it yet,” Yomi sighed, grunting when she hefted Mira up a bit more and started for that open passageway, “For now, we should focus on getting out of here--your phone isn’t going to stay on forever, there’s no signal down here...I don’t think anyone will look for us.”

Mira shook her head, water pattering down her brow and past her eyelashes, “My Dad would. He would never stop looking.”

Yomi paused a moment, remembering that Mira’s father was chief of police in the town. She had seen him a few times hanging out at the local cafe, getting his morning coffee with her in tow. Not to mention the few times he had stopped by the “house” to talk to her step father about his business, or about events hosted by him in town. Mira was right... her parents were not like Yomi’s, they would push to look for them no matter the cost. But...was staying in this room to wait really a good option? How many days would it take to reach a place like this, so deep into the Earth? The nervous, long-haired girl hesitated in front of the passageway, staring back at the pool of water and biting her lip. 

They could survive without food for about...what, three weeks? At least from what she could remember hearing in class, that was the only number her mind could conjure up. Barring any obstacles or future cave-ins, was sitting in this area for that long wise, or could they look forward a bit for any signs of a way out? This area was clearly touched by something other than nature, whether that was magic or not Yomi wasn’t sure. But there could be an exit, and she was willing to look for anything that could help at least.

“What should we do…?” The girl murmured, almost to herself as those hazel eyes lingered on the chasm before them stretching into darkness, “The marks are coming from this way...maybe we should go looking to see where they come from? But if people actually do come looking for us…”

Mira shrugged her shoulders, still looking a bit shaken and wincing when her weight shifted onto her legs a bit too much, “Maybe you should go on ahead yourself? I’m just dead weight at this point.”

She sounded incredibly glum with that statement, eyes staring at the tunnel with biting curiosity and a hint of aggravation. _Frustrated_ \--the redhead wanted to see what all this lead to just as much as Yomi did, maybe more. There was no way she could be left behind, not to sit alone in a cave by herself in the dark and soaking wet on top of all those things.

The salt and pepper haired female shook her head, hefting Mira up a little higher and eliciting a quiet grunt of strain, “Don’t worry, I have you Mira. And don’t...don’t call yourself dead weight, please,” She paused, tone a bit quiet as she admitted, “I can’t do this alone...I need you here.”

That made Mira blink in surprise, something akin to gratefulness flashing in those emerald eyes. She simply nodded, the arm held around Yomi’s waist squeezing a bit tighter. Understanding established, heads held a little bit higher as they stared down the tunnel with apprehension. Air was flowing from it, warmer than what was in the pool of water and its surrounding space and tinged with a hint of...something? Just like what both had smelled earlier when light had raged through the caves above. Like the air was bathed in the scent of a presence-- dark and smokey, forbidden. The only comparison Yomi could find was the sense of night time, or the unbridled foreboding that came from sitting in a dark room with absolutely no light allowed in. It encapsulated apprehension in its purest form, giving it substance.

Yomi sucked in a shuddering breath, stepping forward into the darkness and making sure to keep her footing steady. Mira lit up the path with her phone, staring forward with wariness as they left the cave pool behind. Each sound seemed overly loud in the space, bouncing off the cave walls both forward and backwards. Echoing endlessly, the sensation it brought forth crawling along Yomi’s spine like the dance of fingernails. _We shouldn’t be here,_ her mind whispered in warnings, growing louder and louder as they continued forward, _Someone will hear us._ But who? Surely there would be no one down here, not so deep in the Earth? Maybe not a person, but...something else.

The thought made her shiver, which Mira felt instantly.

“Hey, you alright?” She asked in concern, turning those emerald eyes to meet Yomi’s hazel, “Maybe we should stop for a second, carrying me can’t be easy I’d imagine.”

Yomi shook her head in denial, firming the hold she had on the redhead and footsteps not slowing in the slightest, “I’m okay, I was just thinking about something is all,” Her eyes slipped down to stare at the floor, wincing when the tingle of discomfort continued its torment on her body, “Something doesn’t feel right, like we’re walking into a lion’s den with the threat of being eaten looming over our heads.”

Mira’s shudder mimicked her own, a heavy frown on her lips as she replied softly, “Yeah, I feel that too.”

There was a brief pause between them, that unspoken fear hanging in the air as they continued walking forward. Honestly, what could be said? They had experienced the threat of death once that day, twice in a lifetime now for both of them. Mira during her car accident, and Yomi…

Well. She didn’t want to think about that.

Surprisingly, Mira managed a smile, giving Yomi a light nudge with her head as she added, “When the time comes just yeet me at the lion and bolt, not a damn thing is going to wanna eat me. I’ve practically got a pharmacy swimming in my veins at all times with all the meds I take.”

Yomi cracked a light smirk, a tired one, “Then what purpose does throwing you serve?”

“Headstart. And a show of strength, intimidation tactics.”

Yomi released a snort, shaking her head at even the notion of such a thing working. She appreciated Mira’s attempts at humor to try and lighten the situation, but judging by the nervous smile the redhead wore at was all she could do to cope with the situation. Talking her way through it, covering up fear with jokes in an attempt at distancing herself from it. As always, the other half of this pair was far stronger, far more determined than Yomi was. She felt close to crumbling at any second just from the uncertainty alone, insecurities and worries eating away at the pillars of her already weakened foundation. What could she do if things went south? Absolutely useless in every regard, blaming herself for them being there in the first place.

Even if it wasn’t her fault.

Mira’re presence gave her the needed support to press on, down the long, winding tunnel as it grew warmer. Those smells, the sensations of something bad growing a bit more with each step. It was only when a sound reached their ears did Yomi halt, shock filling her entire being when it started to register that the noise wasn’t your average everyday cave ambiance. Low, grating and harsh as it echoed over the cave walls just as their conversations had earlier... _those were voices._

 _“Are there people down h--”_ Mira began to hiss, but was promptly silenced by Yomi’s hand over her mouth. They exchanged a brief glance, that brief pop of relief they felt at any sign of help being extinguished when they pressed a bit closer, trying to make out what was being said in the first place. Steps quiet, bodies pressed against the cave wall and cell phone camera light shut off as they peeked down to see an opening finally at the end of their path. Was that light in the other room? Glowing orange and violet in color, flickering back and forth over what walls they could catch a glimpse of.

The voices grew clearer this close, bouncing around the underground cavern in some sort of argument. Speaking in English, but...precise, each word fluent and punctuated like someone parroting things they once heard from someone else. It was the same way foreigners generally spoke, learning English as a second language but in a way far more particular than the slang Yomi and Mira had grown up with.

 _“Careful you fool_ \--That tremor must have registered on the Richter scale somewhere above,” One of the strangers growled in irritation, footsteps following their insult toward the far end of whatever the next room was, “What were you told about drawing unnecessary attention from humans?”

 _What?_ Yomi and Mira exchanged a quick glance in the darkness, the way he spoke making both girls uneasy. Humans...implying that they were not ones?

Another voice sighed, tingled with exasperation as they replied almost dolefully, “Do you want this vault open or not? We tried everything else I can think of, brute force is simply the only other option.”

“And look how far it got you…!” Snapped the instigator of this argument, a loud crackle following soon after and punctuated by a low grunt of pain, “Even the backlash of your little attempt could be heard for miles…!”

They continued to bicker, oblivious to Yomi and Mira hovering in the tunnel and throwing insults back and forth. What on Earth were they even talking about? A vault, according to one, but what kind of vault could exist this far down? And then came the mystery of its contents...this was definitely not something that was meant to involve the two girls, not by a long shot. They were in over their head, alone in a cave system with an unidentifiable group of strange people doing strange things with the danger level far too high. Even if they had stayed in the other cave, these arguing strangers could have easily found them and done god knew what. As it stood, there was no way out backwards, and forward was a mystery all the same.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally. And there was nothing they could do.

Yomi jolted a bit when a third voice added itself to the play, low and cloying as it whispered, “So _noisy,_ ” There was a following tap of what sounded to be heels walking over the floor, that smooth purr continuing on, “The magical artifacts we are seeking will be retrieved one way or another--you both must simply decide if you want to admit failure to General Strauss.”

_General Strauss? Magical artifacts? Were these people in the military by chance?_

The first voice to speak groaned, their suggestion not sounding appealing in the slightest, “I would rather pass up on dying--gateways like these are usually so easily unlocked! But this one has no riddles, no shortcuts around its charms at all that would allow us in. It is so bizarre.”

“That just means it holds something far more valuable than anticipated.” The smooth voice replied, sounding very interested in whatever this vault held inside. Heels tapped on stone, their hushed voice murmuring something in a foreign language that rolled off their tongue like water. It caused an immediate reaction, the discomfort in the air spiking enough that Yomi started to feel physically sick. But there was no time to react, to do anything of the sort before an anomaly ripped across the surrounding space. There was another hum of energy, passing through the cave walls behind Yomi’s back in a flash of heat--she bit down on a yelp, jolting off of the surface and shivering at the sudden searing pain that was left behind. 

But the motion caused them both to stumble, Mira’s phone clattering from her hand onto the cave floor too loud for comfort. _Son of a bitch._ Yomi froze, ragged, pained breathes leaving her lungs as all three voices paused, going deadly quiet at the sound that they made. Mira shot her companion a look of panic, eyes filled with worry and fear as she took in the new injury she bore in the bare skin of her back and shoulders. Another burn, the runic symbols seared into flesh and stinging in the most unbelievable way. But they couldn’t linger, couldn’t stay here despite how much it hurt--there was a distinct sound from the outer cave, like metal sliding from sheaths and footsteps rapidly approaching. _They’re armed, we need to run._

_But where can we go? The only way is back and it’s a dead end._

_“Go…!”_ Yomi whispered in desperation, tugging Mira along and swallowing down a whimper of pain from the mark on her back. She didn’t argue or resist, doing her best the push her feet along and give as much momentum as they could. The sound of their footsteps was far too loud--the pursuing strangers definitely heard it, one letting out a rasping growl of delight as metal scraped along the cave wall in an ear-splitting screech.

“We have _eavesdroppers.”_ It was the smooth talker, their voice now low and grating as it started drawing up closer from behind.

Yomi’s brain scrambled, trying to think up any scenario to get them out of this situation, contemplating letting Mira crawl along on her own and using herself as a decoy--but would that really stop the three from looking for more people down there? They could easily find Mira on their own, and no other scenario would be viable. _Too exposed, too stuck_ \--Yomi couldn’t leave the girl on her own and refused to look at her as a weakness. It was the salt and pepper haired girl who caused the sound that alerted them in the first place. As always...she screwed everything up, and was dragging Mira down with her.

Running was useless, and that became very apparent within moments of trying to reach that pool again.

Another crackle rang out, that low hum filling the tunnel in a burst of heat and unpleasant sensations. If there was any doubts about magic before...all were quickly squashed under the oppressive boot of evidence that followed soon after. Their escape was halted in an instant, Mira releasing a startled yelp and collapsing to her knees, sending Yomi stumbling forward into a wall--no, not a wall. Something else, something far worse. A soundless cry of alarm left her lips, hazel eyes snapping up to see black hands manifest from the walls, glowing with violet veins as they latched onto Yomi’s bare shins, arms and neck, holding her squirming in place. _What the hell are these things?! It hurts, it hurts it hurts!_ Yomi’s head screamed in alarm, hazel eyes locked on Mira as another hand clamped over the shout emerging from her lips.

“Yomi!” Mira cried, trying to pull herself up from the floor but quickly being pinned down by her own set of arms from the other side. They pressed her face down into the stone, face scraped slightly and leaving a painfully red trail over her left cheek. She at least had the good graces to look furious, eyes shooting back and forth as she struggled to be free, but these limbs had no give.

Yomi, however, stared in terror as three figures approached from the direction they had tried to flee, bringing a violet glow with them.

She didn’t recognize the newcomers, but that was to be expected. Varying in heights and skin tones, all three stared at the struggling girls with a mixture of surprise and dark amusement. The smooth voice they heard belonged to the one in front, there was no doubt--they met Yomi’s gaze, the white of their eyes black instead of white with glowing violet irises. Pale in comparison to the other two, with dark brown hair cropped short on the sides with a long braid extending down their back. The ones who had bickered previously glared in Mira’s direction, one dark skinned with black and grey locks and the other looking fairly similar in appearance. Siblings maybe? 

Yomi couldn’t be certain, but it scarcely mattered. Especially not when the one in heels pressed a single foot to Mira’s back, digging down hard enough to wrangle out a pained whimper from the redhead.

 _Stop it!_ Yomi wanted to scream, but the sound refused to come out with the phantom hand pressed so tightly to her lips.

“Humans? Down here?” Purred the pale stranger, eyes darting between Yomi and Mira in amusement, “So young and pretty...how did you little larks manage to get down here…?”

 _“Fuck you_ …!” Mira spat, face still pressed to the ground and eyes glaring daggers at the one holding them down.

Being aggressive was definitely not helping the situation, not by a long shot. The main aggressor raised an amused brow, lips quirking into a smirk as they knelt down and grabbed a fistful of Mira’s hair to wretch it back. _I can’t do anything, I’m useless--_ Yomi was held helpless, prone and watching in terror and anger as Mira grit her teeth in pain. It only seem to make the braided one more gleeful, eyes glowing and inhuman in the dark.

“Feisty,” They observed, carding their other fingers through Mira’s bangs and giving a dreamy sigh, “Redheads are always such wonderful magic users, it would be a shame to waste.”

Those black and violet eyes leveled on Yomi, still suspended by those hands mere feet away with obvious fear written all over her face. Whatever idea they had, she wanted no part of it--especially not when that smirk turned into a full on grin, fingers releasing Mira’s hair only to press her skull back against the hard ground. Tapping rhythmically, in patterns of three as they contemplated whatever plan they had in mind. _One, two, three. Pause._ Then back again, making Mira hiss lightly in annoyance and struggle more.

But the newcomer wasn’t phased, inclining their head to the ones standing by and watching. Their following words made Yomi’s blood run cold, and Mira’s too judging by the look of sheer terror in her emerald eyes, “The only thing we haven’t tried is a sacrificial ritual--what convenient timing you ladies have, we were in need of some innocent blood.”

 _We’re so screwed,_ Yomi’s frantic thoughts whispered, wailed and screamed. She struggled more against the hands, nails digging into her palms as she shouted mentally, _Let us go! LET US GO!_

But the dark stranger was oblivious to her thoughts, rising from Mira’s thrashing form and ignoring the redhead’s snarls of, “You can’t just do that! You fucking psycho…!” Instead they flicked their fingers, causing the hands holding both girls to snap in attention and start pulling them forward like puppet strings. Mira dragged along the floor, Yomi held suspended like a tense ragdoll as they were brought into the room beyond. What could she do? _What was she supposed to do?_ Outnumbered and outclassed, going up against forces beyond her comprehension. _Magic, these people were using magic._ Monsters? Devil worshipers? So many scenarios were playing in her head, none would stick.

They didn’t stop as she looked around the new area, heart pounding at what was clearly the vault the three wanted to get into.

The doors of it were massive, made entirely out of stone and carved with numerous runes and markings neither classmate understood. It was intimidating, eerie with how the symbols on the floor stretched out from underneath the barest of seams between the cave stone and the doors themselves. What could possibly be hidden inside of something like that, especially if those contents were worth killing them over? She didn’t get it, there was too much Yomi didn’t understand. All the girl knew was that her life hung in the balance, a third scrape with death she neither needed, nor wanted.

_Third times the charm, right?_

“It has been so long since I preformed a good blood ritual,” One of the dark-skinned siblings mused, eyeing Yomi with a strange mixture of mirth and anticipation, “What a shame to waste such a beauty.”

“You would lie down with a human?” The other remarked with some disgust, their expression somewhere between being annoyed and dismissive of the two girls, “Non-magic types are disgusting.”

If Yomi had a free mouth, she decided that spitting on this person would be the best course of action. But the thought didn’t have time to linger for long, not with the leader of this rag-tag group drawing the attention back of their counterparts.

Fingers snapped loudly, dropping Yomi and Mira unceremoniously on the ground feet apart from each other--the redhead was immediately grabbed by the two side lackeys, held thrashing and yelling by their unyielding hands. Much to Yomi’s dismay, she herself was deposited right in the middle of this room, a large symbol underneath her body as she struggled to rise up again. _Do they intend to kill me first? My blood could easily fill the divots on this floor, running and dripping until they reached those doors--_

The dark-haired monster smiled again, pressing that heel to Yomi this time to hold her down. It dug into the burns on her back, a choked scream of pain lodged in the girl’s throat like barbed wire and barely managing to scrape out.

_I’m going to die._

“I so love seeing flesh marked with my magic,” The smooth talker murmured, running a hand through Yomi’s silken locks and releasing a light sigh, “Not a redhead like your friend, but I do wonder how you came about such interesting colors.” They rose up slightly, eyeing Yomi’s struggling companion with a glint of satisfaction in their eyes, “One should be enough--redheads are far too useful to waste, and humans are easy to break. Even with her damaged legs she’s still far more useful than you, little girl.”

Were they going to take Mira away then? The prospect of kidnapping somehow seemed worse, especially with what this person was implying. They would break her--either through torture or things far more despicable, she didn’t want to imagine. Yomi found the strength to struggle, thrashing under the foot holding her down and ignoring the flash of pain that razed over her back as a result.

 _“Dont…!”_ She shouted, voice echoing off the cave walls and making the stranger stare in bemused surprise, “Leave her alone, let her go…!”

“Yomi…!” Mira cried in response, only to have her mouth promptly covered by the gloved hands of one of her captors. Muffled yelling followed, the redhead struggling with every ounce of strength she possessed and making the siblings grunt in aggravation.

Yomi opened her lips again to shout, only to find those black hands gripping her again. They flipped the girl’s struggling form over, the motion cracking her head against stone and bringing dizziness within the pain. Several pinning her legs down, then her arms in turn. This position allowed those hazel eyes to meet the ones of the aggressor again, seeing no ounce of pity or regret reflected back. No...there was eagerness in those violet irises, a sadistic delight that made Yomi’s skin crawl. There would be no reasoning with people like this, not by a long shot. If there was any doubt about evil existing in her world, it was now extinguished by that look she saw alone. A darkness lived in this person, one that the human girl had never seen in her life.

And it would be the final thing she would ever see again.

One of those black hands wretched her head back again, hair fisted tight enough to make tears spring to her eyes. Rough and unyielding, tight as a vise and refusing to let go. It took Yomi a few moments to realize that it was exposing her throat, eyes locked on the door behind her as the familiar slide of metal against metal was heard in the air. A knife? Dagger? Sword? _They’re going to slit my throat, and leave me to bleed out onto the ground_. She didn’t want to die, she didn’t want to go out this way. On a filthy cave floor, with no one to care and no people left behind that would miss her. _Not like this, not after I just survived the fall._

_Help us. Somebody help us._

“Your blood will make a fine sacrifice to this vault,” Purred the stranger, pressing the tip of their knife to Yomi’s pale, smooth throat, “And if that fails...well. At least we have a newcomer to bring back to play with.”

_I don’t want to die._

Yomi stared with wide, unblinking eyes at the door, mind screaming with every ounce of strength it had while a loud, throbbing roar filled her ears. Panic, adrenaline, fear...Mira’s muffled cries were drowned out by this sensation, the stinging of her back and hand fading under the intense pounding in her chest. _Someone save me, please._ Every name of every god she knew bounced around her skull, calling out for a savior that wouldn’t come. This was not how she would end, not at the hands of people like this. The fear was white hot and balmy, choking and stifling. It raced through Yomi’s veins like fire, filled to the brim as tears slid down from hazel eyes. Once again, there were no flashbacks of her life, no reliving the memories that once plagued her existence for so god damn long.

And maybe that was for the best.

_I don’t want to die._

_Please._

_Somebody--Anybody._

The stranger wielding the dagger reared back, hissing out something in a language Yomi didn’t understand. Another low hum of energy burned underneath her skin, the responding scream of pain muffled by those black hands. No more room to struggle, hopes dashed across the stones. In the end, her death would come in the dark, blood left to pool in the symbols and runes as an offering to something she would never understand.

And in that moment, she decided that she never wanted to.

_Save us._

That flash of silver started to head for her throat, glinting the violet light of the monster’s glowing eyes as they went to deal the killing blow. Mira released a muffled scream of denial, the sound of her desperately trying to get away from the rough hands holding her back barely audibly above Yomi’s own heartbeat. But before the dagger could reach its mark, before it could rip into the waiting arteries in her throat and spill even a drop of blood...Something began to happen.

A loud crack of sound rang out in the cave. 

Tremors made the attacker stumble, a grunt of shock leaving their lips as Yomi watched the doors behind her glow with two different colors of energy. A light, icy blue and shining gold--a sense of strange calm battled with the dark energy in the air, washing it away like a cool breeze of a fall day. It traveled along the markings lining its stone surface in a flash of light, weaving along the floor and walls just as the other bursts had. Only this time it didn’t cause a raze of agony on Yomi’s flesh--it instead caused all three of the captors to fly back, dull shrieks ringing out as them tumbled feet away in a flash of stinging steam. Something about this new energy hurt them, the one holding the dagger dropping it like they had been tased and writhing in agony. _What is going on? They didn’t spill my blood, didn’t cut me at all--_

_So how did their ritual work?_

Mira collapsed on the ground where they dropped her, eyes wide and staring at Yomi as the doors started to creep open, loud and groaning after god knew how long they spent close. A cloud of dust rolled up from the ground- _-but it wasn’t dust at all,_ Yomi realized, feeling a wet heat roll over her exposed skin. _It was steam, smoke_ \--moist air billowed out of the inky blackness in clouds, obscuring the doorway in mist as the aggressors scrambled to their feet, recovering from what happened and no longer filled with glee. No...that was fear in their eyes now, deep rooted shock and disbelief as the doors finally settled into an open position, a charged heat in the air making each breath heavy.

Silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, a low bass hum similar to that of the other magic filling the air. But this felt less oppressive, at least to the girls experiencing it. The ones who tried to kill her took a couple steps back in alarm, weapons raised and violet orbs of magic floating around the braided one in some sort of protective circle as they hissed something in that foreign language.

It sounded like they were cursing.

Yomi was panting and wheezing as she tried to pull herself up from the floor, realizing belatedly that the energy had knocked out whatever was causing the dark hands to hold her down. The one who meant to kill her didn’t even spare the injured human a passing glance, violet eyes wide and furious as they stared beyond her at the doorway. Mira was staring at the doors now as well, legs tucked underneath her in an uncomfortable position, but she paid it no mind.

_What was going on? What was happening?_

Yomi turned weakly, heart pounding painfully in her chest as she rolled over to look into the darkness as well. Every movement brought the sting of agony in her back, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she sought to see through the billowing mist in the doorway. Eyes wide and staring, the silence in the room only broken by a heavy thud that approached mere feet away from her prone form. Something was coming closer, and she was too rooted with shock and fear to move away.

The smoke and steam curled into clouds, reaching up toward the craggy ceiling as something started to emerge from the dark, illuminated only by torches left burning on the walls and the low glow of magic still lingering on the floor. The attackers behind the human girls readied their weapons, low hisses of shock and disgust ringing out as they spotted what it was much faster and easier than the oblivious humans. But their eyes soon adjusted to the dark, the white and black-haired girl staring in mute shock at the image that awaited her. Honestly, what could she have expected to emerge from the tomb?

Not this.

Never this.

Yomi’s breath hitched in her throat, everything in the room fading to white noise as she met the gaze mere feet from her face.

Icy blue eyes stared back from silver scales, teeth bared on a snout that was almost canine in appearance. But far larger, far more intimidating with the sharp scales and twin sets of horns curling back from its head. The pupils of its eyes were thin slits, animalistic and filled with emotions she didn’t understand, breath hot as it growled out from its mighty maw. Yomi couldn’t comprehend what it was for a moment, mind blanking in shock and confusion as it took another thudding step forward, claws scraping on stone and a huge, arching body curling out from the smoke. Wings unfurled from its spiked back, reaching up toward the top of the doorway and brushing against the craggy rocks that hung down, knocking a few loose. She couldn’t look away, _she couldn’t move._ Transfixed by fear, by so many emotions running through her skull. Even as the creature came closer, its snout practically inches from her face. Close enough that its hot breath sent her hair back a bit.

But shockingly enough, amidst all of that fear and shock.. _.was absolute awe._

The creature didn’t back down from her gaze, a second, transparent inner vertical eyelid sliding over the icy blue pupil staring at her own. And it was in that moment, clarity hit Yomi like a freight train, sending her heart into overdrive as the creature finally came to a halt. Its long whiskers twitched at her, snout sniffing the air and releasing a cloud of steam that traveled through her lungs and over the already stinging skin on her back.

It was those whiskers that finally tipped her off. Because she had seen if before, on the Chinese dragons that were depicted in storybooks and movies. Long and elegant, with silvery fur underneath that scaly chin and lining its chest all the way down to where it disappeared between those front legs. Only this creature was far bigger, like a nice mix between the tradition dragons in storybooks and ones of Chinese myth.

That is when it finally clicked in place, the words slipping out from her lips in a barely there whisper that was lost to the growling of the creature’s lungs.

_“Dragon.”_


End file.
